"Okay, we can tell they were prepared for us. I'll sneak ahead." Vinno used the fake treasure boxes and path blocks as cover, going quickly from one to another. Soon enough, he spotted three Shadowsun gunslingers and two Chilling Howlitzers behind sandbags and barb wire.

Vinno relayed this to the team, and soon enough, Ash Tails and Voltails came up behind the embankment; the Alphas attacked the Howlitzers while the rest of the pack tore into the surprised gunslingers. The pack made short work of them, and Supernova bullets destroyed the Howlitzer heads before they could cause any damage.

The wolvers rushed back to the main group just as a mob of eight Dire Wolver strikers ran into the room. Arkady leapt out, roared at them, and brandished his swords; when the Strikers ran toward him and began to swing their Dark Matter Hammers, Arkady merely jumped backward, swinging his Khorovod to block an incoming hammer from behind. Then Vinno rolled a Cloud Nine out from behind a block; the mist caused the assassins to fall to the ground, snoozing. Algrim wasted no time in disarming them, tossing the hammers over the side and taking the Strike Boosters (and a good thousand crowns) for himself.

"All right, Vilk. We'll have to hurry up and find that Dirtech tank!"

"Right. Do we have any readings?"

Milyn checked her comlink. "There's a large energy reading at 122 degrees from our left. Scanners are going nuts... they're projecting a critical mass within twenty minutes."

"All right. The off switch is on the tank?"

"Yep."

"And physical force will deactivate the thing?"

"Yep. Bosco sent me a message as we were going into Emberlight... the switch is a failsafe he installed, in case someone were to remotely commandeer S.T.U.R.M. and try to fire on us. If it weren't for that, our only option would be to destroy the Firotech tank, which would take too long to possibly do safely."

"All right." Vinno twirled his Valiance once. "I guess I'll sneak in and shut it off."

Vilkus shook his head. "It's likely heavily guarded. You could be spotted and killed."

"That's a risk I'll have to take. If I hit my emergency button, I've been spotted and need to be bailed out; if I hit the alert button, I need a distraction to safely snipe the button. Got it?"

Arkady nodded. "You Gremlins are braver than I expected! It does not matter where we are from. We are brothers in arms, so I have your back!"

"He speaks for all of us. Right, Algrim?"

"Right, right. You guys do the distraction, and I keep watch over the exit. Sounds about right."

Vilkus rolled his eyes. "Algrim!"

"Hey, don't worry. I'll do whatever you say, Vilk."

(I had my wisdom teeth removed today. My mouth has a heartbeat.

Not that that's going to stop me from updating today!)

Vinno looked to the left, then to the right. Nobody on the walls. Vinno continued on; it wasn't far now.

There! Up ahead, there was a large sillhouette. Vinno used the wall blocks to hide himself while he snuck forward, carefully avoiding beds of spikes.

"Status report, Vilk?"

"We're holding out well. Nothing's getting through! Another one with a magic rod came by, but one look at my Aegis and he bolted." The sound of Wolvers mauling something filled the air, then Vilkus added, "And I think Dusty just found him. You, Vinno?"

"I see the tank. Let me do a little more recon."

Vinno peered around the corner. Watching the entrance were three big, tough-looking Hidden Blade members in jet-black Plate Armor that had a sinister, deathly aura. Vinno decided he'd call them "Death Knights". The Death Knights were wielding large spears that looked like the kind a Cursed Deadnaught held as well as massive black plate shields with glowing pink eyes. Behind the Death Knights was a tech team that was trying to remove the locks on the Dirtech tank; even these guys were armed with Devil-IT augmented Volt Drivers and a total of four Rocket Puppy sentries. The tank itself was massive, more so than the Firotech tanks; this tank had a large nozzle at one end, theoretically to load energy into S.T.U.R.M.

"Three really big Knights guarding it. Plus some Rocket Puppies and the tech team. Is the switch on the side or directly opposite the tank's nozzle?"

"There's actually three switches." It was Bosco's voice. "Two on opposite sides of the barrel and one opposite the nozzle. Do you see one?"

"Bosco!" It was Milyn. "You're helping us out?"

"Just for a bit. Gotta get back to watching the cameras- Tucker, Desna, Locke, and Stocke are about to launch a surprise attack on the Hidden Blade in HQ, with Venton's approval. Vinno, do you see the switch from where you are?"

Vinno took another look. The barrel-side switches were on the top and bottom of the barrel, relative to the ground. It'd be a hard shot, especially considering that one shot would alert the Death Knights. "Yes, but it's a risky shot. I'll have to get closer."

"Can you?"

"Yes." Vinno looked back at the Death Knights. Their black Plate Armor was still Plate Armor. They'd probably be weak to Cloud Nine. Vinno strapped his Royal Jelly Shield to his back, then began charging a Cloud Nine in his left hand. Once it finished, he quietly rolled it toward the Death Knights from behind the block, then charged another one.

About a moment before the explosion, one of the Knights noticed the bomb, but it exploded before he could react. All three fell into a deep slumber, and the first began to fall over.

Vinno rolled forward and kept the Knight from falling over and making a clunk; instead, he slowly propped them all up. Then he crept behind the block again.

Vinno snuck another glance around. The tech team was shouting at each other, the tank was making an audible hum, and the Rocket Puppies were as quiet as ever. Vinno could see the third emergency switch; one hit would disable the firing process, but he needed a better shot. Vinno dropped another Cloud Nine to keep the Death Knights asleep, ensuring they weren't directly in the center of the blast, then looked again. Each Rocket Puppy was facing a different direction, turning slowly in a 90-degree arc. Vinno waited for his opportunity; when the Rocket Puppy turned its head as far as it could, Vinno vaulted over the block wall, lifted his Valiance, aimed, and fired.

The bullet struck the switch right on the spot; the Dirtech tank began to power down. Cries of anger came from the tech team, and a few began pointing at Vinno; Vinno himself was pulling out his Dread Venom Striker to make one last move. He took the sword and swung it at a Death Knight's leg.

It bounced right off, and woke the Knight up. Vinno's mouth dropped open. They were practically immune to the Dread Venom Striker!

The Knight reached for his spear; Vinno wasted no time in fleeing, the Royal Jelly Shield deflecting an incoming rocket. He hit the comlink and shouted, "Got the switch! How much time did that buy us?"

Algrim cheered. "WOOO! Bosco said it'd earn us a whole day! That's the minimum the switch can be off without Bosco's code. You got somethin' on your tail?"

"Three really well-armored knights in some sort of sinister jet-black Plate Armor. DVS didn't even scratch their leg armor. I'm calling 'em Death Knights."

"Good to know. The new HQ will be relatively unprepared; it'll need combat data on the Hidden Blade's stuff. I'm going to call the Guard Chief now... we've got time to aim our entire army at the Hidden Blade base."

"Any word from Nonna and Petro-" Vinno felt something hit his back, a thrown Death Knight spear. The Royal Jelly shield took the blow, but Vinno felt a strange, unnatural force wrap around a lot of his gear, and a devilish cackle could be heard from somewhere... "Blast! Guys, I'm Curs- URGH!"

Vinno felt a sharp pain. Wincing, he looked at his comlink; it too was cursed, as was his Shield. Some Remedy Capsules and Health Capsules he'd picked up, as well as all of his weapons- the Dread Venom Striker, Valiance, Cloud Nine, Stagger Storm, and even the Beam Torch, were also cursed. He shut off the Comlink, spotting a Giant Lichen Colony unleashing its Thorn Root attack.

"Vinno! It seems some little rat cursed you!" Arkady lifted his swords. "Where is the fool that did so? He is not long for Cradle!"

"Back there. The curse hit everything I've got, even the Comlink. It's really potent."

Algrim pulled something out of Vilkus's shield. "Ha! Looks like they lost this spear! Wonder what this sells for..." Algrim heard a strange, ominous voice in his head, then rolled his eyes. "Ah, forget it. Morons don't know what an anti-shadow override is." Algrim tossed the spear over the side of the Clockworks. "Good riddance!"

"Watch out. There's more where that one came from. Three of them total. They're slow runners 'cause of their Plate. But nothing will push them and they've got massive defense."

Vilkus nodded. "Then we should use their speed against them. How did you pass them in the first place?"

"Cloud Nine." The sound of clanking armor came from farther back in the tunnel.

"Good. Milyn! We're going to use... that move."

Milyn nodded, and motioned to the Giant Lichen Colony. It still had a saddle that Milyn rode it on, but now Vinno noticed something else: a collapsible ballista that Milyn was assembling in a matter of seconds. Vinno, seeing what the plan was, charged another Cloud Nine, ignoring the Curse, and passed it to Milyn as she pulled the ballista's string back. Vilkus and Algrim also passed a Cloud Nine.

The Death Knights came around the corner, one of them wielding an Acheron to replace his thrown spear. Vinno grimaced... then grinned as the ballista fired. The three bombs fired at breakneck speed and struck the Death Knights head-on, exploding on impact. In addition to the Elemental damage hitting through some of their defense, the explosions, of course, had them snoring before they could even toss their spears.

"YES! That's more like it!" Vinno fell to the ground. "Urgh... I'm hurt, though. You guys mind covering me?"

Vilkus nodded. "Blasted Curse. Milyn, do you see anything up there?"

Milyn looked around from atop the Giant Lichen Colony. "Argh! More of those annoying Gunners! Hang on a second..." Milyn made a single motion, and Vinno watched as, to his left, five Shadowsun gunslingers began screaming in pain from Wolver bites.

Algrim, meanwhile, was looking at the Death Knights. "Heh. First to make them sitting ducks..." Algrim dropped another Cloud Nine while taking every weapon they had, scanning the weapons with his own comlink, and then chucking them off the Clockworks. "Very good. Now, Vinno, I believe you get the lion's share of their cash... ooh, look at all this Shadow Steel! Heh, fighting these guys makes us rich...

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"It is done, Fearsome Lightning. The suffering Knights are healed of their wounds and the Howlitzers are banished."

Petrode nodded. The Cottonwing looked as if it was mourning... no doubt, it was because of all the death around it. While the Silkwings relished death and suffering, and healed monsters to aid in causing it, Cottonwings felt only sorrow at the pain of others, even if it was deserved. Petrode pointed at the next floor up, Depth 17. "I HAVE RECEIVED WORD FROM NONNA THAT THE SUPERWEAPON STOLEN BY THE HIDDEN BLADE HAS BEEN DISABLED. I WAS WORRIED YOU WOULD NOT RETURN IN TIME FOR ME TO WARN YOU, BUT IT IS A MOOT POINT NOW."

"That is good. How did you know Emberlight would survive, though?"

Petrode turned for a second, blasting a sneaking Hidden Blade Recon with a flash beam so the Emberlighter tanks could take him down. "SOME OF THE OUTCASTS ARE TOO AFRAID TO TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST THE MIGHT OF TINKINZAR. BUT NOT ALL OF THEM. I ONCE THOUGHT ALL GREMLINS WERE DOOMED TO SLAVERY UNDER THE SWARM AFTER TINKINZAR'S TREACHERY, BUT NONNA HAS SHOWN ME OTHERWISE."

The Cottonwing nodded slowly. "Was Nonna the first Outcast you met?"

"YES. IT WAS NONNA WHO FOUND ME, UNABLE TO MOVE AND AT THE END OF MY ROPE, IN THE UNKNOWN PASSAGE. SHE REPAIRED MY BODY ON THE SPOT, AND WE ESCAPED DANGER TOGETHER." Petrode lifted his arm. "MANY OF THE INFECTED WERE FREED THAT DAY."

"It is good. Even now, one of the Seven Guardians is still a friend to the upright. Fearsome Lightning, you know the Gear Sage, Brinnan?"

"YES. I KNOW OF BRINNAN. DID HE DIE IN BATTLE, OR OF OLD AGE... I MUST KNOW. BRINNAN'S WISDOM SAVED MANY LIVES... THE ANCESTORS OF THESE OUTCASTS WOULD HAVE DIED IF NOT FOR HIM."

"Brinnan still breathes! And he has the Heart of Lightning. He uses it even now to power machines that keep him on his feet. Brinnan was the one who asked that I come and find you... I have watched him for a long time."

"IS THAT SO? THEN GUIDE ME TO HIM. IF HE IS IN EMBERLIGHT, SURELY HIS KNOWLEDGE SHALL HELP US. AND ONCE HE IS SAFELY IN EMBERLIGHT, I WILL RECLAIM THE HEART OF LIGHTNING... AND FIND MY FALLEN BROTHERS."

"Brinnan is on the outskirts of the Great Colony, right by the Core. It is perilous to go there, Fearsome Lightning!"

"I KNOW THIS. BUT I MUST FIND HIM... JUSTICE DEMANDS IT."

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"All of them sorry fools are armed with nasty Shadow weapons, and none of 'em have the overrides- makes me sick to my stomach just bein' near 'em. And there ain't a man in there without them. I tell you what, Desna, we got ourselves one humdinger of a termite nest."

"One humdinger of a termite nest, indeed. But I live for danger!" Desna pulled out a massive cannon. "This here... it's called the Volcannon. Fires a massive flaming cannonball. Takes a while to warp the cannonball back, but the sheer payout is worth it! And if I pick up the ball, I can fire again on the spot!"

Tucker nodded, spinning Frontier Justice once in his hand. "Then I'll cover ya. Locke? Stocke? ...Barrell?!"

Barrell had two Big Angry Bombs, one under each arm. "Ricasso managed to find a trick to defuse the HQ members' suit bombs. Him and Doc have got it now. But why do you think the Hidden Blade members aren't doing anything?"

Locke looked in through the tiny window they were observing the Lower Council room from. "Hmm. Looks like they're waiting to ambush someone at the door. Too bad for them, they aren't watching the ceiling." Locke and Stocke had Recon Cloaks in the left hand and Leviathan Blades in the other.

"All right. We attack in three... two... one..."

Desna kicked down a loose wall, fired her Volcannon inside, and shouted a battle-cry. Barrell tossed the two Big Angry Bombs down through the opening, and Tucker, Stocke, and Locke dropped through, Desna close behind them.

Desna's Volcannon automatically began the warp drive, slowing her down due to the higher energy output. But the element of surprise was working; of the twenty "HQ Lower Councilmen", three lay dead from the Cannon, three more from Barrell's bombs, and four more were wounded or knocked out by either of these two. Tucker unleashed a Frontier Justice charge attack; the bullet took down another four Lower Councilmen, and Locke and Stocke's Leviathan Blades knocked another two down, hitting a third into the flaming cannonball.

The Hidden Blade retaliation was particularly susbtantial, coming in the form of pre-deployed Dark Retribution mines; however, Tucker had spotted them beforehand, and each Knight was in a position where they were safe from the terrifying orbital bombs. Desna's cannonball remained in the spot it was in as the warp drive continued; the cannonball had already set three of the four able Hidden Blade members ablaze. Tucker reloaded Frontier Justice, and fired, shooting down the last member.

The mines faded away, and the burning Hidden Blade members were no longer burning; however, Locke, Stocke, and Barrell had them at swordpoint. One per Recon Ranger. That left ten dead, and ten unable to fight back.

As Desna's Volcannon automatically reloaded, she roared a battle cry. "RECON RANGERS!" Then she glared at the Hidden Blade members. "It seems we ambushed your ambush!"

"They ain't talking in here. Let's take 'em back. When Feron's all better, he'll give these suckers quite the grilling."

Tucker nodded. "I got this joker right here. Looks like the Hidden Blade's plan isn't goin' so well, now is it?"

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"Well, Infernire?"

Trilla was standing outside the cell that held Infernire. The Guard Chief held Infernire's Firotech tank and Nonna held the flamethrower nozzle, which was sliced off by the Fearless Rigadoon. "The Hidden Blade's all but beaten now. Our army's regained control of Emberlight." Trilla sheathed her Wild Hunting Blade. "And all your fires are going out."

"Bah! Everything burns, rat-lady! Don't forget this- EVERYTHING burns! And everything WILL burn!" Infernire cackled aloud. "Under Master Varrax, all things will burn. And when I get out of this cage, I'll burn you, too... slowly but surely. And then, while you're burning, I'll burn your little Adoption Agency, before proceeding to every rat-man and every Spiralian that crosses my path!"

"Why, Infernire? Why to things need to burn? To satisfy you?" Trilla pointed to the Firotech tank. "If I were to take your own tank and burn you to ash, would it be right? Would you like it?"

"I... GRRRR! Come on! Let me OUTTA HERE! THINGS BURN! THINGS HAVE TO BURN! BURN!"

Trilla turned around, walking away. The Guard Chief growled at Infernire, holding a Hail Driver in his hand. "You set foot outside your cage and you'll learn another thing. Whether you burn or not... you freeze. Let that sink in for a bit. Nonna, how's the Agency?

"A-OK. Nothing made it in thanks to your guys and Talvi's bots. The tanks were a huge boon. Thank you."

"Anytime, ma'am. It's my job, ain't it?"

Then something came to Nonna's mind. "Chief? Have you seen Petrode?"

"Hmm... one of our scouts saw him. Said Petrode was in the company of a glowing white Silkwing, speaking to it as if it was an old friend..."

"A white Silkwing? A Fiend?"

"No... the Scout said it was everything a Fiend wasn't. Bet you should go find Petrode and check up on him."

"I will. And then I think I'll seek out the one who organized this attack. Suffice to say... I'll have to take away his living privileges."

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"Hmph."

Varrax shook his head. His attack was still going on, with at least two hundred still in Emberlight. But the superior numbers of the Emberlighters and Knights meant it was doomed to failure. How? The all-out assault should have distracted them... they should have all burned!

"Master Varrax... I apologize." It was Maldex.

"Back to beg for mercy, Maldex? But I have no need to kill you. No. Our hold over the Order is shattered, our attack on Emberlight was thwarted, and to top it all, Fearsome Lightning still stands. He still has the Heart of Lightning!"

Maldex shook his head. "Fearsome Lightning is too powerful to face head-on. We must use Dread Knights."

"Oh, yes, about Dread Knights. You know of our forward base?"

"I do, Master Varrax."

"The three Dread Knights there, as we speak, have been looted and disarmed, and are being tied to the back of a Giant Lichen Colony while, at the same time, their only armor left is the leather padding they wear underneath their armor. No doubt the Spiral Order will know all there is to know about Necroplate."

Maldex nodded. "Back to the shadows with us, then?"

"Indeed. We shall strike from the darkness... and Emberlight will fall. Tinkinzar may lead an entire nation, but this makes him no less gullible than any of the rats..."

Varrax turned. "Sound the retreat. Tell those in Emberlight and the Depth 17 base to abandon all actions and flee. To'Pakar's old buildings have been looted, have they not?"

"They have. His leftover Devilites are also integrating with our own forces."

"And our Swarmspire?"

"Safe as usual."

"Then we are defeated, but not destroyed. You win today, Emberlighters- raise a glass to your victory! But what happens when the tenuous cease-fire you have with the Great Colony begins to crumble? Enjoy your fleeting freedom, Emberlight. For in the end, you will not escape the flames..."

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Here ends Part 2: Swords in the Dark. Part 3 will follow sometime after my next post in the Smash Seekers.

"Lower Clockworks regions? Lower than the Core Terminal?"

Tucker nodded. "Y'all set up your Core Terminal above one side of the Core, but the Great Colony is on the complete other side, going from a half a mile to two miles above the Core itself in a big ol' monster of a complex spannin' about five or six depths of two hundred stories each. We aren't goin' in there, though- way too many hostiles. Between four and two miles down are the outskirts, and Brinnan the Gear Sage is holed up in the outskirts, on Depth 31."

Feron nodded. "So the Great Colony is on the other side..."

"Sure is. However, the regions between the two of you are dangerous to traverse. You probably haven't had to deal with too many Gremlins."

"Then how do you intend to get in, find Brinnan, and return?"

Tucker winked. "We Gunslinger Priests happen to know our way around the Clockworks pretty dang well. I'll lead them through a path that's got minimal dangers."

"Well, then. Good luck. I'll requisition some energy to give you a free ride to the Core Terminal."

"Nah, we need to end up at the Depth 23 Clockwork Terminal in the Diamond King gate."

Feron raised an eyebrow. "You're going through the..."

"No, we ain't goin' through the Shadow Lairs! That'd be crazy. Nah, we just need to get to Depth 24 quickly. And I think we're gonna need one of them Beam Torches..."

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"Depth 23? Got it. I'll get the Elevator to bring you guys down, free a' charge. No worries, I'm happy to help! This Polyp is savin' me LOADS with its thief-catching!" Gracken patted the Polar Polyp on the head. "You already paid me for the Sleep Vials and Vitapods, anyway."

"You're sure? You gotta make a living somehow."

"No worries, I already am. I make two hundred Crystal Energy in an hour on a bad day!"

Vinno grinned. "Thanks, Gracken. We appreciate the help."

"No prob! Just come back in one piece, eh?"

Vinno waved good-bye to Gracken and began walking toward the elevator. Nonna was waiting, with a different weapon set. "Hey, Nonna. What are the new guns?"

"I built my set around stealth. This here..." Nonna spun a smaller Callahan-esque gun in her hand, "...would be an Emberlight Tranquilizer Gun. It'll knock someone out cold, no sweat, and do a little minor Piercing damage, enough to interrupt Greavers. Charging it up will launch the dart a really long distance. I've also got Cloud Nine for knocking out a whole group. This here is called Solar Blast. It's basically a Nitronome specially modified to produce a potent flash, at the expense of some blasting power; it'll be good for quick escapes, providing we've got dimmer goggles. I'll be handing those out, by the way. And this here is a copy of Tucker's Frontier Justice pistol that we managed to make. It deals Normal damage and isn't nearly as shiny, but it's effective- and it has a silencer, too."

Vinno nodded. "Any word on the Hidden Blade?"

"It seems like they've all but vanished. Good thing, too. Now let's head to Depth 23-"

"Vinno!" Trilla ran around the corner, then stopped and gasped for breath. "Whew... ran... all... the way... here. Vinno, I almost forgot to give you this!"

Trilla handed Vinno a strange object; Vinno looked at it. "What is it?"

"Well, you remember that Celestial Ore I found on Depth 20, about two months ago?"

"Whew, people were talking about that for a while." Vinno grinned. "It was the talk of the agency. An abandoned Lichenling was living behind it, you spotted the Lichenling, and then saw the Ore as you picked it up."

"Yeah. Well, I got a Mist Tank and made it into this." Trilla reached into a small pouch on the side of her armor, then pulled out a small telescope. "This thing is a Mile-Zoom Spyglass. You can get a good view of objects about one mile farther ahead with it, or you can set the zoom lower with the dial on the side. I want you to have it."

Trilla handed Vinno the Spyglass; Vinno took it, a little sheepish. "Ah... thanks."

"Vinno! Test it out! That could be really handy." Nonna began pondering the uses of a Mile-Zoom Spyglass. "Hitting a Devilite right in the eye... THAT would be impressive."

Vinno nodded; he peered through it towards the Agency. "Hey, check it out. I can see each individual brick." He smiled. "Thanks, Trilla. This might just save my life."

"That's the idea... Come back alive, okay?"

"I'll do my best."

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The elevator creaked to a halt at Depth 23; Tucker and the Cottonwing were already waiting, as was Vilkus's squad. Milyn only had four creatures: Dusty, a Bull Chromalisk, her Giant Lichen Colony, and a Toxoil.

"Right, we're all here. Just waitin' on Petrode..."

"I WAS DELAYED." Petrode came climbing down the elevator shaft. "A HIDDEN BLADE ASSASSIN SAPPED THE ELEVATOR AND ATTACKED. I MANAGED TO THROW HIM OFF, BUT COULD NOT RESTART THE ELEVATOR."

"They're still around?!" Nonna shook her head. "Great. Do you think they might warn Tinkinzar?"

"Maybe. But if we stay hidden well enough, Tinkinzar likely won't take us seriously, not to mention the fact that we won't get attacked if nothin' sees us in the first place."

"Right." Vilkus pulled out his Cyclone Edge. "Where to?"

"Well, get your Beam Torches ready. We gotta cut through a few walls..."

The fight between Arkady and the Dread Knight was flying from left to right erratically as one or the other would gain an advantage. Vinno watched for an opening; after Arkady's swing, Vinno rolled behind the Dread Knight and rushed toward the assassin with the Swarm Rod. That assassin lifted his hand up, and a strange form materialized in front of him: a Void Lumber!

Arkady wasn't paying any attention to the Void Lumber. Algrim, however, was. His foot was up in the air, still cursed by the Greaver, and Algrim himself was sitting down, shield raised. There wasn't much he could do unless-

"Algrim! Behind you!"

Algrim turned around, noticing a ticking Master Blast Bomb directly behind him. In a panic, he hit it away with his shield, then jumped toward Arkady and his foe in an attempt to get away from the bomb. His foot hit the ground and sent a short pain up his leg- and then the pain stopped. With his foot still on the ground. "Whew, that was getting old and WHAT THE-"

The Dread Knight had very nearly stomped on Algrim, but Vilkus's shield slammed into the knight's side, followed by a primed Shining Sun Shard bomb, courtesy of Milyn. The combined attack had the Dread Knight reeling, and Arkady was easily able to knock him flat on his back with a hit from each sword.

"Ha. This fight was getting boring and I was winning anyway." Arkady stepped on the Dread Knight's arm to keep him from lifting his axe, and held both swords on top of him. "Could somebody..."

Dusty leapt on top of the Dread Knight, bit his arm, and then grabbed his axe. Algrim patted Dusty's head. "Good dog."

Vinno was circling the Void Lumber, waiting for an opening. The Lumber didn't seem to attack, but instead tensed itself. The assassin with the Swarm Rod, meanwhile, was starting an ominous chant. What was he...

"Vinno, bomb on your six!"

Vinno looked behind him, finding another Master Blast Bomb. "Dang! Where are these coming from?" Vinno jumped out of the bomb's radius well before it exploded. He knew there had to be someone dropping those bombs... he immediately noticed a vague outline running around in the background.

"Nonna, we've got an invisible bomber- aack!"

Some kind of roots were coming out of the ground, tying Vinno's feet to the ground. The Swarm Rod assassin came out from behind his Lumber. "Ah, not so energetic now, are we, rat?"

The Void Lumber lifted its arm, and let the axe fall; Vilkus leapt in the way, taking the blow on his Aegis. The force was enough to break through the shield's defenses and wounded his arm, but it stopped the axe, lodging it in the shield itself.

"Return fire!" Nonna's first shot flew across the room, striking the Lumber in the arm. The bullet was able to slow the Lumber's removal of the axe from Vilkus's shield. As she reloaded, Algrim roared and leapt at the Swarm Rod assassin- only to be stopped by an invisible object.

"There he is!" The force of impact knocked over both Algrim and a very dazed bomber in Heavy Demo, a Master Blast Bomb almost charged in his hands. Nonna pointed her pistol at the bomber. "All right, that's enough bombing for you!"

Vinno, meanwhile, broke free of the roots, and, rolling under the Lumber, tore into the Swarm Rod assassin with his Dread Venom Striker. The sword ripped holes in the Murderous Garb and the Swarm Rod assassin didn't last long after that.

"WARNING! CORRUPTION DETECTED!" Petrode had finally stumbled into the train, and immediately went to work on the Void Lumber. His eye laser tore the Lumber's circuits apart with sheer electrical power. With nothing left to power it, the Void Lumber crumbled, fading away.

Vinno looked over the battleground. One disarmed Dread Knight, one sniper with a spike through his brain, one Swarm Rod assassin torn to ribbons, and one very scared looking bomber. On his own side, everyone was in the train. Except...

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"Drop... your... weapon... Deadeye!" Maldex charged again, leaping and slashing. Having been angered, all traces of finesse were gone from Maldex's attacks. Tucker nimbly slid under the blow, shooting Maldex in the foot as he went.

"Doggone it, boy, you ain't gonna hit the broad side of a barn throwin' a tantrum like that!" Tucker spun the Argent Peacemaker in his hand. "Anger. That's what drives you, ain't it, Maldex?"

"How... do you... know... my name?!" Maldex charged again, trying to stab Tucker. But Tucker casually sidestepped this attack, and rapped Maldex in the back of the head with his gun.

"Boy, Petrode told me all about ya. Somethin' must happened what made you angrier than a beehive on a hot summer day. Tell me, why'd you join those Hidden Blade fools in the first place?"

"AAAARGH!" Maldex roared, trying a jumping slash, but Tucker rolled underneath him, shot his foot up to trip him, and then stepped on his arm.

"Listen up." Tucker, keeping Maldex's arm pinned, reached for the Acheron. He could feel the evil resonating from it; without the Spiral overrides, the dark forces in the Acheron were unsuppressed. However, Tucker was unaffected, and he tossed the Acheron aside like a twig, then did the same with the Barbarous Thorn Blade at Maldex's belt.

"Now, you seem like you got a head for reason. What with all these battle plans you come up with, you gotta have some grasp of cause an' effect." Tucker pointed his gun at Maldex. "Now, I don't wanna shoot if I don't hafta. Just answer my question."

"Why did I join the Hidden Blade? Why did I join the Hidden Blade?" Maldex growled. "Don't you have any idea? The Spiral Order robbed me. I was an orphan... my mother and father were killed fighting the Morai... under the command of Euclid, no less! Euclid, the most brilliant commander the Spiral Order had to offer, let them die?" Maldex's fist clenched. "Then they decided that, since nobody alive gave a single Crown whether I lived or died... Nobody helped me. So I helped myself."

Tucker shook his head and sighed. "That's awful to hear. I'm serious... I hate to hear of a child losin' his parents. Back in my hometown, we'd all pitch in and take care of orphans."

Maldex was silent.

"So, Maldex. Why would you kill other Knights, then? They might have kids, and those kids would end up as orphans, and suffer like you did-"

"No. They would not suffer like me... because where they would die from their weakness, I survived. I stole at first... then Master Varrax enlightened me on the way I could better go about survival." Maldex let out a malicious laugh. "I survived by the edge of a sword. Don't you know? Only the strong survive. It is the way of nature. Master Varrax understands... the strong should hold power over the weak! And by training under Varrax... I have become stronger than anyone alive! You... only have semantics! Justice? Hope? Defending the weak? These will get you killed, Tucker, and I will likely be the one to do it!"

Tucker shook his head. "One, you're in little shape to make threats, all things considered. I did just disarm you and hold you at gunpoint. Two, sure, I might die. I accepted that long ago. I survived a heckuva lot longer than I expected... but that was not all my doin'. Even the strong find themselves outmuscled, outnumbered, outsmarted, outta luck, or just out of time. Where will you be, Maldex? When you've grown so old you can't stand up again, or come across a spot of hard luck, or been guessed and out-gambitted by a smarter feller, or had twenty Rocket Puppies shootin' at you an' only you, or found yourself fightin' someone with that key bit of more skill than yourself? Tell me, boy. Where will you go after you die?"

Tucker turned around, picked up the Acheron, and threw it off the side of the Clockworks, then took the Barbarous Thorn Blade and also threw it off the side. Maldex started, but Tucker said, "Nope, don't start cryin' about that. I'm doin' you a favor, boy. Do yourself one and get some new armor, or at least put the overrides back on that suit."

Maldex said nothing.

"I know where I'll be goin' when all's said and done, Maldex. And I know what I'm fightin' for. What are you fightin' for, Maldex?" The train began whirring behind him, and Tucker chuckled. "Why, that's my ride. I better get goin'." Tucker looked back one more time at Maldex. "I'll be sparing your life- I do believe I'm being told that I should let you go this time. You're disarmed, after all, and the only clear path is back to the Terminal. Don't waste this chance... it may be your last."

Tucker walked into the train, immediately met by Algrim. "Sheesh, Tuck, you took your time! What on Cradle was goin' ON out there?"

"Maldex." Tucker stowed his Argent Peacemaker. "The Knight in Fallen Armor. He attacked me, but I drove him off."

"TRAIN LEAVING IN THIRTY SECONDS."

Milyn shook her head. "I wish you would have finished him off."

"Hmm. Well, you never know."

Petrode looked at Tucker, and Tucker nodded at him. Petrode gave his own knowing nod back. Vinno raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. Probably just the two old-timers thinking about something from back in the day.

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"I..." Maldex looked at his hands. There was no weapon in them. His swords had been thrown off the side... even the Acheron Varrax had given him on his initiation into the Hidden Blade. Tucker the Deadeye had thrown them away... and then spared his life!

"Because he was weak!" The train was already gone, but Maldex could catch them... no, he couldn't. Not a chance. Going into Spiral Order territory with no weapons and override-free armor was suicide... he would have to wait. The nerve of...

Tell me, boy. Where will you go after you die?

Why was he hearing this? He was Maldex. He was an unstoppable force. He could not be destroyed, and it was his lot to destroy the weak.

I know what I'm fightin' for, Maldex.

"No, you don't. You are weak. I am..." Maldex stopped. Was Tucker weak? Tucker had forced him to drop his weapon.

What are you fightin' for?

Maldex tried coming up with an answer. Nothing was coming to mind.

"The guy's nuts, I'm tellin' you. Totally out of his mind." The Hidden Blade bomber was quaking in his boots, and Vinno knew why. Half of it was because of his enemies, and half of it because of his allies. The bomber was a former mercenary who had fought with the Spiral Order, before becoming disillusioned (more than slightly due to some particularly unsportsmanlike Lockdown jocks) and joining the Hidden Blade a few weeks ago. He had found out the Blade's true nature only after Maldex had already strong-armed him into providing support on their task.

"Maldex is out of his mind. Okay. Other than a name, we didn't get much new information out of you. Do you know anything else?"

The bomber nodded. "Yeah. We were supposed to head to the Great Colony afterward. I wasn't given much info other than what I've already told you... those guys are more secretive than the Intel department! At least Intel will give you the time of day!"

Vinno growled. "The Great Colony! Do you think..."

Nonna slowly nodded her head. "Maybe... they have it in for Emberlight, so they might have wanted to start a war. I hear they have six robots like Petrode here in the Great Colony."

"No kidding." The bomber shivered a little. "Sheesh, that's a scary thought. Six of those big guys walkin' around- this one was strong enough to wipe out a Void Lumber like it was a Shufflebot! ...so, now what?"

Vinno shrugged. "We'll be going on, and you..." Vinno looked the bomber over. "What crimes have you already committed as a Hidden Blade member?"

"Nothing, apart from a few bomb system repairs on their guys, and attacking you guys today."

"Good. We'll have to confiscate your weapons for now, but we'll give you a voucher. Just follow the path we already cleared back to Haven and explain the situation to Intel Agent Kora."

The bomber's eyes widened. "Wait. Just like that? You guys are gonna let me go?"

Milyn nodded. "Believe me. Some of our fellow knights can be hard to live with. I, too, left the Spiral Order once... but there are some among us who aren't so bad." Milyn gave Vilkus a wink, to which he replied with a slightly nervous chuckle.

"Thanks a ton. You guys rock!" The bomber sat down off to the side, mostly out of sight. "I promise, I won't work for the Hidden Blade ever again! I never knew about half the stuff you told me about 'em."

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"ATTENTION. THE TRAIN HAS ARRIVED AT STATION A. PLEASE EXIT IN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES, OR STAY ABOARD FOR PASSAGE BACK TO STATION B."

Tucker nodded. "Well, that's our cue. You got your letter, right?"

Nonna had written out a short letter that the bomber was to deliver to Kora, detailing who he was and who he now worked for. The bomber said, "Yeah! I'll see you guys later!"

Tucker led the group off the train. "Everyone okay? Algrim, is your foot all right?"

"It's A-OK! And soon I'm going to order armor with a Maximum Curse Resistance Unique Variant, so that never happens again!"

Vilkus chuckled. "You know something? Now you really can say you fought a hundred Greavers and lived."

"Yeah, they were tough, those thousand Greav-"

"Thousand!" Arkady scoffed. "That many would not have fit in the train!"

"Sure they would have. Greavers aren't exactly big, they're just fast and annoying."

The Giant Lichen Colony came out last, squeezing through the door with a bit of effort. He would be the main supply carrier; Tucker was going to lead them on a stealthier route, so they'd have to be careful.

"I see you've arrived." It was the Cottonwing. "I apologize for leaving so early. It was necessary to ensure there were no Gremlin patrols here, so I left ahead of the train. Are you all right?"

"Mostly. The Lichen Colony here was hit by a bullet and Algrim's foot may be sore."

"Eh, maybe a little. Heal the Lichen first."

The Cottonwing proceeded to tend the Giant Lichen Colony's wound; the Lichen seemed to look at it, grateful for its help.

"Right." Tucker pointed toward a large capsule, suspended above a strange mechanism. "This here is the edge of the dome. And it seems the Cottonwing's already got us a capsule. Thanks for that." Tucker pointed past the capsule, into a strange expanse. "This sucker goes faster than a hare on hot sand with a Wolver on his tail. It goes through the Clockworks' giant gears. We'll use it to get close to Tinkinzar's territory."

Vilkus nodded. "Right. Anything to worry about?"

"Any of you guys get motion sick real easy?" At this, Dusty whimpered a little. Tucker turned and faced him. "What? You get motion sick?" Dusty whimpered again. "Aww, gee. It's all right, boy. It's not too bad. Hey, I'll get you some jerky when we get there. That good? Hey, now you're happy. Good dog..."

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"Evening, Daxen."

Daxen holstered his gun, the target above his store full of bullets and the floor riddled with shell casings. "Howdy, Archilus. What's up?"

"I received a book in the mail that was meant for you. The system must have placed it incorrectly."

"Sure it's for me? You're into collecting books." Daxen looked at the book. "Hmm. An unabridged history of the Gunslinger Priests, a and a complete listing of their techniques. Published... whoo! This book's a thousand years old!" Daxen then looked at the mail tag. "To Daxen. From Tucker the Deadeye..."

"Curious... it's a very old book. Few books on the Gunslinger Priests were found in Owlite libraries... I must say, my interests have been piqued by this piece. I would dearly like to read this. May I borrow it when you finish?"

"Sure thing, Ark." Daxen handed him the book. "In fact, I'll let you read it first. Just make sure I get it soon- I'd like to see the techniques!"